The invention concerns a door configuration, comprising a door for opening and closing an access, wherein the door can be pivoted about an axis S relative to a main frame of the door configuration, wherein the door has a sliding door that is disposed on a casement of the door such that it can be displaced in a direction V, and wherein the casement can be pivoted about the axis S relative to the main frame.
Door configurations of this type are known e.g. from doors with sliding windows (see http:/www.woelfleder.at/tuere.htm, April 2008).
Door configurations are generally used to reversibly close an access, in particular, block, cover or seal it. A door configuration thereby comprises a movable part, in the present case called door, and a non-movable part, in the present case called main frame. The door is thereby movably disposed on the main frame. An access that can be closed by a door may e.g. be a passage into a room of a building, or also an engagement opening into a cabinet or a housing.
Folding doors are widely used, which are disposed on the main frame (e.g. a door frame or a wall unit) such that they can be pivoted about a (usually vertical) axis. The overall access that is covered by the door can be opened by pivoting the folding door. The door may be simply borne via hinges or joints. When a folding door is opened, a relatively large amount of space is required in front of the access as a pivoting area for the door.
In practice, it is often not required or not desired to open the entire access that can be closed by a door. In such cases, another, smaller door is conventionally integrated in a folding door. In former times, for example, town or castle gates often had so-called “manholes”. Such a manhole is merely a head-high folding door that is inserted into a door wing, through which individuals could pass. To allow passage of vehicles, the town or castle gate was completely opened. The further smaller door only opens part of the access that can be closed by the entire door. Operation of the further, smaller door is generally easier than opening the entire gate, and also requires a smaller amount of free space in front of the access.
The above-mentioned doors having sliding windows basically represent doors on which, in turn, a sliding door is supported for opening part of the access that can be closed by the entire door. The sliding door can be used without requiring any free space in front of the access, and can therefore be used, in particular, when space is limited.
The pivotable part of the door, on which the sliding door is disposed and with respect to which the sliding door can be moved, is called a casement in the present case.
Door configurations having a double function, i.e. a casement and sliding door function, conventionally have independent operating and locking mechanisms for each function. This results in a relatively complex construction, and frequent change between the functions makes handling complicated.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to improve the operating and locking mechanism of a door configuration of the above-mentioned kind having a casement and sliding door function and, in particular, simplify the construction and handling.